One of my favorite things New York City has to offer is the
fact that it is a “walkable community”. The hectic life that New Yorkers choose
to live sometimes makes it hard to appreciate our surroundings. However, having
to walk to get to places sometimes allows us to properly engage with the beauty
of our surroundings, at least during times when we are not in a rush (which if
pretty unusual for our specimen).
One unusual day I found myself calmly (actually) walking
through the Meatpacking District, my favorite district in New York City, no
doubt. Walking by myself allows me, not only to think about life, but also to
learn how to appreciate it even in the toughest times. So there I am, no rush,
no pressure. I’m walking uptown to 14th Street to jump into the
train to go back home. Suddenly, on a window I notice this rather dazzling
statue- like figure of Virgin Mary. I look at her closely for a couple of
minutes.
I notice her face does not have much detail. Interesting. I
notice, however, the details and the beauty on her robe. A combination of gold
and almost a marine blue, I can almost feel the robe flowing with the wind as
Mary lovingly stands with her arms wide open. The subtle smile on her face
almost makes me feel welcomed, somewhere.
It’s now Christmas time, New York City’s favorite holiday. I
can tell merely by watching how many things they surrounded her with and the
three decorations they put on her. She seems to be holding what looks like
Christmas tree decorations in both of her welcoming hands. However, more than holding,
for me she almost seems to be reaching out to give them to me, to share them. Once
again, I feel like this is due to the emotions the expression on her face is
evoking to her audience, to me.
All these details somehow elevated her presence. Standing on
a window display, I could only imagine someone taking her home and placing her
right on their entrance so as to let her welcome people into their lives. Just
like Henry Ward Beecher, I believe her presence would elevate their household
closer of God. This is not only because of the obvious factor that it is a
statue- like figure of Virgin Mary, but because she was carefully made into a
beautiful thing, and beauty is of God. Adding beauty to our lives is a good
thing, Beecher argues, as it is a representation of God and God is good. We
should seek aesthetic beauty with that which we surround ourselves with, and
this object would make the cut.
In “The Varieties of Religious Experience”, William James
talks about “religious sentiment”. He argues that for a connection to exist
between a higher power and us, objects are crucial. Every Catholic Church has a
big crucified Jesus nailed to the wall on the altar that is noticeable as soon
as we walk in. Having a tangible and visible object completely changes the
dynamic of mass as we can “see” the presence of God through it and many feel a
more powerful connection. Much like this, having this Virgin Mary would
aggrandize the connection to God for many, or so James would argue.
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